Troy University Athletics
Trojans Face Auburn on Friday
12/3/2009 9:15:00 PM | Basketball (M)
AUBURN, Ala. – Mired in a bit of a slump, the Troy men's basketball team must shake off the cob webs quickly and ready itself to face in-state opponent Auburn on Friday night.
The Trojans picked up two early wins over UA Fort Smith and Valparaiso at the Legends Classic sub-regional last weekend in Statesboro, Ga. before falling to Georgia Southern on Sunday in the finale.
Troy (4-3) shot just 40 percent for the game and is shooting right at 40 percent against Division I opponents this season. In those games the Trojans are just 1-3.
Troy head coach Don Maestri is well aware of the obstacle in his team's path on Friday evening.
“This is going to be a really difficult challenge for a few reasons,” Maestri said. “First, we are not playing very good basketball right now. We are in a basketball slump. We haven't been playing sharp and we haven't been executing.
“We've been turning the ball over a lot. We haven't been shooting well and we are struggling with chemistry.”
The Trojans turned the ball over a season-high 21 times against Georgia Southern. Over the last three contests, the Trojans are averaging 16.7 turnovers.
Troy is also struggling to find the right combination of players. Currently, nine Trojans are averaging double-digits minutes.
“Secondly, Auburn is starting to play better basketball. They have several really good players and got back one of the best shooters in the country for their last game. We are catching them at a bad time.”
Auburn (4-3) defeated Alabama A&M on Tuesday night 87-52 in Huntsville behind 22 points and 13 rebounds from Lucas Hargrove and 10 points from Andre Malone.
The team also saw the return over last season's leading 3-point shooter, Tay Waller. The senior scored 13 points on 3-of-4 shooting from deep in 17 minutes, his first action of the season.
Tip-off for Friday night's game is at 7 pm. Tickets are still available from the Auburn ticket office for 10 dollars. Live stats and live game audio will be available at the links above.
The Voice of the Trojans Barry McKnight and Jerry Miller will bring you all the action from courtside on the Troy ISP Network with pre-game beginning at 6:30 pm.
The Trojans picked up two early wins over UA Fort Smith and Valparaiso at the Legends Classic sub-regional last weekend in Statesboro, Ga. before falling to Georgia Southern on Sunday in the finale.
Troy (4-3) shot just 40 percent for the game and is shooting right at 40 percent against Division I opponents this season. In those games the Trojans are just 1-3.
Troy head coach Don Maestri is well aware of the obstacle in his team's path on Friday evening.
“This is going to be a really difficult challenge for a few reasons,” Maestri said. “First, we are not playing very good basketball right now. We are in a basketball slump. We haven't been playing sharp and we haven't been executing.
“We've been turning the ball over a lot. We haven't been shooting well and we are struggling with chemistry.”
The Trojans turned the ball over a season-high 21 times against Georgia Southern. Over the last three contests, the Trojans are averaging 16.7 turnovers.
Troy is also struggling to find the right combination of players. Currently, nine Trojans are averaging double-digits minutes.
“Secondly, Auburn is starting to play better basketball. They have several really good players and got back one of the best shooters in the country for their last game. We are catching them at a bad time.”
Auburn (4-3) defeated Alabama A&M on Tuesday night 87-52 in Huntsville behind 22 points and 13 rebounds from Lucas Hargrove and 10 points from Andre Malone.
The team also saw the return over last season's leading 3-point shooter, Tay Waller. The senior scored 13 points on 3-of-4 shooting from deep in 17 minutes, his first action of the season.
Tip-off for Friday night's game is at 7 pm. Tickets are still available from the Auburn ticket office for 10 dollars. Live stats and live game audio will be available at the links above.
The Voice of the Trojans Barry McKnight and Jerry Miller will bring you all the action from courtside on the Troy ISP Network with pre-game beginning at 6:30 pm.
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